Environmental Inventions that could save the planet!
I was busy doing my morning news browsing when I came across the article about the first successful ocean clean up haul. I was so excited to see that someone took a concerted effort to not only come up with the idea, but to execute it as well. What a feat! It got me thinking about other environmentally friendly inventions. I hear about them every day on Reddit and on my Facebook feed, but what are the practical uses of these? How much money and resources will be needed? How far into the future are the real possibilities of some of these ideas? I decided to take a closer look at some of these options.
Drinkable Ocean
It’s somewhat common knowledge of the existence of desalination plants. They are effective, but are costly and huge facilities that take up a lot of space. Using less energy, some English researchers are hoping to develop a sieve made out of graphine to do the job. Water, especially CLEAN water, is a coveted resource among poorer areas of the world. Not having the money and land to spare, this invention could help more than 15% of the world’s population have clean, safe water.
A Pollination Drone
Drones have fast made their way into our culture. Remember when Amazon said they were going to start to deliver packages via drone? But what about using efficient flying technology for pollination? With the honey bee population in decline, finding enough hives and having the trucks and planes to relocate them to various crops takes money and time. Because of modern agriculture, about 75% of all the world’s food is pollinated by bees or butterflies. Using mini drones could revolutionize the industry in many ways. The technology though, is still in development as Japanese engineers struggle to get the same efficiency that nature provides.
Biodegradable Bullets
If you’re alive on planet Earth, you’ve probably heard that our planet (mostly the oceans) is drowning in plastic and other non-biodegradable materials. The US military seems the least likely advocate to get this off the ground; however, they’ve called for more environmentally friendly ammunition. Bullets and other military equipment take hundreds of years to break down. The EPA itself has said that military occupied areas are amongst the worst when it comes to waste. Now, they are calling for ammunition that encases seeds within them. Seems like the military is getting a little hippie, man.
Plant Based “Plastic” that doesn’t pollute
Kevin Kumala, an Indonesian entrepreneur, was walking along on a rainy day when he noticed all the pedestrians wearing ponchos. Disgusted that these would only be used a few times before being discarded, he set out to create an alternative that wouldn’t pollute the Earth. Using a common, and cheap, plant native to Indonesia, cassava proved an amazing alternative. Now, he plant produces about 4 tons of cassava based plastic products a day. Here’s to hoping this catches on across the world!
A Plane that Emits only Water
So this plane isn’t a commercial plane by any means, but it’s a huge start. The small 4-person plane actually runs on an electrical current from a supply of hydrogen and oxygen, aided by a battery. The only emission because of this is water vapor. The hope for the future is to create a large fleet of these “air taxis” for shorter trips running from LA to Vegas, and the like. In the future, they will bring the cost down, and be able to accommodate more people for personalized trips. It seems for now, though, the cost of renting one of these would really put a dent in your wallet. Here’s to patience and to a brighter future!
I wish every company would seriously look into alternatives when it comes to emissions, plastics, waste, and just cleaning up after you in general. After all, there isn’t a planet B! Are there any environmentally friendly inventions you’ve come across? Tell us about it in the comments below!